Justification of Evil
by TheImmortalDoll
Summary: Even the most cold-hearted have their story to tell, the explanation of their life and the paths they have chosen. After the fall of BEGA, Boris Balkov is convinced to recount his life's tale and show the reasons behind his dark ambitions.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **Beyblade and all it's recognised characters are copyrighted to their respectful owners. I am making no money from this, so don't sue!

**Justification of Evil**

**By TheImmortalDoll**

**Chapter One: Prologue**

Ruins. It was in utter ruins. This building, this project that I had put into all my financial support and effort. My life. Now it was in ruins.

I turned my back on what remained of my precious BEGA building. No reason left to look at it, to be near it, to think of it. No reason that would not be like rubbing salt into my own wounds. So, what options was I left with. I had no house to return to, no family or friends. And of course, joining in the celebrations was hardly an option, despite that my supposed team- that I had trained and dedicated endless hours to- had now turned their backs on me and were a part of the joyful mass that surrounded that damned _Tyson_ down below.

Walking away. That was all I could do. Who would stop me? It was hardly likely that anyone would call me back. I was not a concern to them anymore. Just like the last time those brats defeated me, they celebrate with their ignorant belief that I would never be able to regain the power and resources to threaten that tedious and pitiful BBA.

I could start again, of course, become the threat again, of course. I was left with nothing last time and returned, I could do the same again. But last time was different. I had the will left in me then. I was not defeated. I was still strong. I'm not sure I have that strength now, nor the desire.

Maybe I was manipulative, maybe I was underhanded. But that's the way the business world works. The world is a harsh place and you have to be harsher to succeed in this life.

And this sport. A huge popularity worldwide. Who was to say it could not be a professional sport. Who could criticize me for trying it. Why should these children who so love this sport be left treating it like a kid's game in the playground.

But enough contemplating on my ambitions. Back to there ruins that I'm left with. I have walked further away from the rubble of my building. The surrounding and intact streets of the city I can now see before me are deserted. Everyone has run down there to see that damned boy, or perhaps just to find the cause of that temporary obliteration of the sun.

A man is stood before me. He seems in no hurry to get down to the celebrating mass. Though he looks as if he's travelled a long way. He doesn't even look dressed for the country, more a mountain climb.

And I know this man. Well, hardly know him, but we have met before, spoke before and he would not comply with me before.

He's looking at me now. He's walking over to me now. I had no idea if this meeting will be good, bad or in fact of any importance at all.

"Boris." His tone of speaking my name hardly shows any happiness or delight from familiarity.

I fold my arms, looking this man over, wondering why he is bothering to share his words with me. "Mr Granger."

A slight smile adorns his face. Somehow similar to that brat son of his, yet more mature, more defined. Well, it is hardly difficult to be less sophisticated than his wretched child.

"Call me Bruce, please," he says. "I've spent years travelling deserts and living in tents. I am neither used to formality or desire it."

I nodded, not really caring either way. "Do you have something to say or have you come to rub your son's success in my face."

His smile is gone now. I would like to think I still have some powers of intimidation left but I do not think it is that. "No," he says, surely enough. "I am proud of Tyson, of course. But I have never believed gloating to be worthwhile or intelligent."

I can't help but scoff. This man is almost painfully polite.

"Why did you do it, Boris?" He asks suddenly and I snap my attention to him out of pure curiosity as to why he would ask such a question. "What do you mean?"

"All of this. Not just this BEGA fiasco, but BIOVOLT previously, your treatment of children, your criminal nature. I am curious. Why?"

"Why does it matter?" I retorted. "Reasons are reasons and affect nothing now. These are the consequences we have laid out before us now, what do reasons matter?"

"Like I said, I'm curious," he replied. "I'm not only interested in bit-beasts. I love Beyblade. And I'm interested in the people involved as well." He pulled his backpack further up his shoulder. "You have nowhere to be now, am I right? Nothing to do? I'll make you a proposition."

"What?" I snapped, not liking this man's patience and politeness.

"Tell me your story," he said with a shrug. "I'd like to know. No other reason. I will not even repeat anything said if you do not wish me to. But I would like to know, for merely my own interest."

I was confused and begrudgingly intrigued, but I would never let him know this. "My story? You mean you want the tiresome tale of my life? What on earth would you gain from that?"

He shrugged again. "People don't always work for gain, Boris. I told you, I am merely interested. Feed my curiosity, if you will. I would merely like to know."

I watched him as he turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the city.

"Don't you want to see your damned son?" I called after him.

He looked back over his shoulder at me. "I came to surprise Tyson. He's got his friends and my father with him. He's preoccupied. I will see him in time. Now come on, I know somewhere we can talk."

I didn't like being ordered around. I was used to giving orders. But as I've said, this whole BEGA incident had near enough defeated me. So out of purely nothing better to do, I followed.

Bruce took us to a rather simplistic hotel room. I thought an archaeologist would be earning good enough money to afford something a little more lavish.

As if reading my thoughts, he turned and smiled and said, "I know this room isn't much, but it's enough for me. I've never liked big, fancy rooms with en-suite bathrooms. Not my style."

I shrugged and watched as he sat at a simple wooden table which held a notebook and pen.

"Would you mind if I made notes? Merely to recall the details," he said.

"Do as you wish," I said. "And you truly want to hear this tale. My life has been long and some things I'd imagine you would not agree with."

"Not my business," he replied "I merely want to listen."

"Fine, fine. Where should I start? BIOVOLT? Before that? How much do you want to know?"

"All of it," he said. "From childhood. If you can remember anything of specific importance. I want to know who you are. I'm intrigued."

"Once again, I will say I see no reason for this. But simple things amuse simple minds, I suppose."

He merely smiled wryly at my insults, refusing to react, unlike his brash and quick tempered son. "When you are ready, Boris. I'll let you talk without interruption."

"Fine by me. I detest those who makes constant comment. Shall I begin this treacherous tale then?"

He nodded.


	2. Climing the Ladder

Justification of Evil

By TheImmortalDoll

Chapter Two: Climbing the Ladder

**My childhood is not of much importance. I was born into a split-race family with a German father and a Russian mother. An only child. We were the typical family, we went to church every Sunday. We worshipped and lived by the bible. I was sent to a public school, we could afford nothing better.**

**We only owned a small house on the outskirts of St Petersburg. My father claimed he built it with his own two hands, the look on my mother's face told me much different every time. But she never spoke out against him, she would never dare.**

**Hitting children was never thought much of back then. A slap was a suitable punishment to put a wayward child back in line. People today believe it to be barbaric, if anyone thought that back then, no one much cared to do anything. My father had no qualms about giving my the odd whack if I was considered out of line, but I was a calm and obedient child for the most part. My father never spent enough time with me for there to be many moments between us that a disagreement would be caused. I was never close to my father. He went out to work, came home, ate dinner with my mother and I, then I was sent to do my homework or entertain myself in any means otherwise.**

**Social skills were not a well-developed part of my childhood. I never had any other family other than my mother and father, never spoke to anyone but them and my fellow students at school. Life was hard and I quickly learnt you got out what you put in. No time for pleasantries, no money for social gatherings, to get up and work, go to sleep and start the day over. That was the regime of life in my early years.**

**We lived in a small community where people kept to themselves. What was one person's business was no one else's. No friendly sense of a neighbourhood. It was a poor and rural area and people fought for what they could get, there was no room for gratitude. No one outstretched the hand of friendship and generosity because people did simply not have enough to share.**

**When I graduated from the basic school system, we did not have the money for me to be sent on to higher education. I was sent out to work to earn for the family. I did various jobs like a street urchin, shoe-shining, cleaning jobs, unpacking stock in small corner shops. This was my life for several long years until I reached the age of twenty-four. Hard labour was the only way to get by and I quickly learnt that the harder you worked the more you got out of it. Call it my motto for life.**

**Both my parents had passed away a couple of years ago with not much emotion felt on my part and I lived alone in the small house which was by now in a rather poor condition. At this time, I was working as a cleaner in a small Beyblade shop. I barely understood the items sold in the shop. I knew nothing of the sport and it had no interest for me. I saw kids rush in and out every day, I saw them outside with these spinning tops, looking as if they were having the time of their lives.**

**The owner of the shop was an elderly man. I didn't even know his name, he said I had no reason to. I was to call him Boss, because he was the Boss.**

**Every so often men would come by, they would go into the backroom with him and leave a while later. My curiosity got the better of me one time and I peered round the doorframe to see what was going on.**

**Bags of white powder were exchanged for money. I wasn't gullible. I knew it was drugs. I knew it was illegal. And I knew it was no concern of mine if I wanted to keep the job I had which I so desperately needed.**

**Then one day the old man collapsed. I found him on the floor behind the counter after I'd come in from sweeping the front door step. I called the ambulance, the paramedics arrived with no other job to do but tell me it had been too late.**

**The old man was dead. I never did find out the cause, but I would have guessed drug overdose.**

**Of course, the bags of white powder found in his residence were investigated. The shop was ransacked, too.**

**Not knowing what else to do and badly needing money, I continued to run the shop and it was eventually left in my hands after a contract was found that stated should anything happen to the owner, the shop would be left with any working staff. I was the only employee.**

**I was also interrogated about the drugs. They tested me to ensure I had had no contact with the substance and was not using it myself. I was clean, of course.**

**I was told about the results of drug usage. I believe the intention was to scare me off from using anything of the sort, but instead I was fascinated. I had no intention to use the stuff myself, but I was intrigued to hear how it could affect people. How it could weaken people and strengthen them in such incredible ways. And under such an influence, people could be manipulated and used. What power.**

**I continued to run the shop and in doing so I inevitably learned more about the sport.**

**I talked to the kids that came in, I examined the products on the shelves and read the books on the structure and mechanics. These were not mere toys as I had first thought, but rather tools. Weapons, even.**

**But my most amazing discovery came from merely watching the kids battle with their beyblades outside. This discovery was, of course, that of the bit-beasts.**

**They amazed me on the few precious occasions I witnessed this miracle. The bit-beasts. It was the bit-beasts that I fell into a passionate love affair with. Always the bit-beasts.**

**I researched them and studied their origins and forms. I learned all I could and my fascination grew.**

**Beyblades. These were not mere **_**toys**_**. They held power. They held **_**life**_**!**

**I studied the products the humble shop sold further. I took some into the back and worked on them myself, developing improvements I believed would be beneficial. I became a Beyblade mechanic in the same status as that boy on Tyson's team.**

**Yes, Kenny had always been an interest to me. His intelligence is admirable, his understanding is impressive. I would have loved to have him as part of my staff.**

**But enough of Kenny, back to my early times in the sport.**

**I had been working in the shop for three years. I was twenty-seven. My knowledge of Beyblades had grown to an advanced level and I was giving advice and help to the kids that came in daily.**

**I even changed the services of the shop. I not only sold Beyblades, but I did work on them and fixed those that were broken best I could. I was receiving fantastic income- though no where near enough to come be considered distinctly wealthy- as the sport grew in popularity and it was even receiving television coverage.**

**While working on these blades, I always studied them for whether or not they contained a bit-beast. Not many did. And the few I did discover, I always noticed the kids that trusted these blades to me were always extra wary and cautious to ensure their blades would be in the best of hands.**

**I never failed to provide good service. I presume this was what caught the interest of one Voltaire Hiwatari.**

**I was much surprised to see such a man walk into my small and humble shop. I knew who he was. Everyone in Russia knew who he was. A prestigious business man. Russia breathed Voltaire's money. But the sources were questionable. Exactly how the man had made his fortune had always been a topic of debate among the gossips. I did not consider it a concern. I was hardly a man who was in a position to judge when Voltaire was a billionaire and I struggled for basic necessities.**

**Despite my rural up-bringing, I knew common manners and I knew the 'proper' way to treat a man of such high status.**

"**Good morning, sir. How may I help you?"**

**He smiled, or maybe smirked, I wasn't sure. He tapped the end of his cane on the wooden floor. "Boris Balkov, am I correct?" He spoke with such sophistication, such refinement. A man whose success was admirable, who I admired.**

"**Yes, sir."**

**He leant on his cane, posture proper and held with authority. "I have heard many things about you, Mr Balkov. Good things. I understand you are rather an expert in this sport of Beyblading."**

"**Well, I don't know if I would consider myself as such, but I use my skills as effectively as I can."**

**He nodded, eyes fixed on me with an intimidation that was more powerful than anything I'd ever experienced. "Well, Mr Balkov. I have a proposition for you. If you would kindly come to my residence, I would like to discuss this with you further."**

**He handed me a printed card with his name, number and address stamped in gold, next to what I presumed to be either a family crest or a company logo, maybe a combination of both. Either way the design of a royal red and gold phoenix before a shield was obvious a sign of success.**

"**Shall we say tomorrow for dinner?" Voltaire continued and I found myself nodding before I'd even thought it through. But he seemed pleased and gave me than same mix of a smile and a smirk. "Excellent. Good day, Mr Balkov."**

**I was stunned. What interest could such a prestigious and renowned man have in me? I was a nobody in the scheme of things, in the big world. And I'd heard the rumours, everyone had heard the rumours that shadowed that name. **_**Hiwatari**_**. You should never mess with a Hiwatari, that's what was said.**

**But the next day I dressed in my finest clothes, a grey suit and black tie with a stiff white shirt and made my way by bus to the large mansion to which my only previous interaction had been passing by the gates while walking the streets.**

**I gave my name at the intercom and the gates opened by some technology that seemed almost magic. I felt a small and insignificant man walking down that long path up to the house that loomed on the horizon. It hadn't seem so large, so utterly elegant and intimidating looking through the gates back on the street.**

**I reached the door after a good five minutes of walking. Descended the steps to the large double, wooden doors, carved from a deep oak. I pressed the doorbell, which I'm certain was made of real gold, and waited.**

**A butler answered the door. Sure enough, I hadn't expected Voltaire to come to greet me personally. "Boris Balkov?"**

**I nodded and was permitted inside. Into a grand entrance hall with stairs that ascended on both sides, carved from the same deep oak the doors appeared to be made from, further inside doors seemed to be all around on the richly papered walls and the carpet, a deep red, the colour of blood. The crystal chandelier loomed above and lit up the area with a hue of golden light.**

**I was taken through a side door and along a corridor to the dining room. I'd never before been to a house large enough to **_**have**_** a dining room. But this was massive, with a finely carved table down the centre and high windows lining the walls. Expensive, padded wooden chairs were all around the table and it was in one of these which I was seated.**

**I was not left waiting for long. I was soon joined by Voltaire who took the seat opposite me with a kind greeting. "Welcome, Mr Balkov. I trust you find my home favourable."**

**I nodded and waited for him to be seated and give orders of dinner to his servants. He then turned back to me, poised with all the superiority and arrogance of the successful man he was.**

**We engaged in light conversation and I told him about myself with as much dignity as I could. I told him about my interest in the sport of Beyblade and how I had developed my knowledge.**

"**Your knowledge is indeed impressive," he said. "And this is where my interest in you lies, Mr Balkov. I see you are a well-organized man and you have the right mind for business. Therefore, I have a business proposition for you."**

"**Oh?"**

**He nodded. "I have also seen the benefits of the popularity of this Beyblade sport. And what I envision is a facility where children can be trained in the sport, develop their talents in it. A school, if you will. There are tournaments in this sport now. And we will train winners, the money they win in the competitions will continue to fund the facility. This is what I envision. To develop championship Beybladers and to invest in their training with the financial return being gained from their victories."**

**I was intrigued and amazed by this idea. I had never envisioned such a grand project could be centred around this humble sport of spinning tops. But how did this concern me?**

"**But you see, Mr Balkov. I am a busy man," he continued. "I have already purchased a facility where this will take place, but I do not have the time, or the knowledge to run such a place. **_**This**_** would be your job."**

**I was stunned. I sat back in my seat as dishes for dinner were placed before us. I sat and considered this stunning proposal.**

"**Of course, you would be paid for your work. A full time job," Voltaire said. "I would manage your wages personally. Wages which I imagine would be, if you'll forgive me, far superior to your current income."**

**He gave me the figures and I was basically convinced there and then. I had never even **_**seen**_** such money to be earning it was more than I could imagine.**

"**What would I have to do?" I asked.**

**Voltaire shrugged, picking up his fork. "Train the children than we select for our facility. Teach them your knowledge and help them to develop their abilities. Discipline them and make them into the perfect Beybladers."**

"**Discipline?" I questioned. "What need is there for discipline in this sport?"**

**Voltaire's disagreement was clear. A frown instantly formed on his face as he took a sip of wine that was blood red. His voice had fallen to a chilling baritone. "Children need discipline, Mr Balkov. I detest those without it. Screaming wretches that run the streets with no respect. Pathetic parents that are too afraid to give their children the harsh slap that some deserve."**

**I was not shocked by this concept. I was by far no stranger to physical discipline of children. It was all I had ever known.**

**I considered the proposal as we ate a lavish five-course meal. By the end of it, I had made my decision.**

"**Mr Hiwatari, I have considered your offer and I would be delighted to take the position."**

**Things seemed to go in fast forward from there. Before I knew it there were arrangements being made for me to move to and live in Russia's lavish capital city of Moscow. A house had already been brought for me. A fine house near where I would be working, fully furnished and with every requirement I could ask for and more.**

**It was the facility where the Beyblade school would be that needed work. The site was an abandoned abbey, used for religious rituals many years ago. Now deserted. The structure and main building was all in tact and clean, but the rooms were empty.**

**Soon hundreds of lorries arrived, all carrying advanced technology and all the equipment that would be needed. I was required to do nothing but stand by and watch this as it all went on and the simple, abandoned building was transformed into the biggest advanced Beyblading facility ever built to date.**

**The preparations took a full year to complete. Over that time I was introduced to many people by Voltaire, all good contracts that I would come to use in the future. I also got to know Voltaire himself and we reached a first name basis.**

**I was nearing my twenty-ninth birthday by the time the facility opened. I thought it would be named as one of the many Hiwatari co-operation buildings. But Voltaire insisted, much to my pleasure, that it would be named Balkov Abbey. So Balkov Abbey it was.**

**The first students came. Boys only, as Voltaire insisted they were the stronger half of the population and more suited to our purpose. They were trained and had some success. The results were good but not excessive. I was sure we would improve in time, but Voltaire was an ambitious man and wanted immediate results.**

**I was under pressure and needed to improve my methods, I knew. So training became harsher, working days longer and those who did not do as well as I hoped, were treated rougher.**

**I had a hundred employees under me. Guards and workers that were situated all over the facility. I gave them orders and they obeyed.**

**But my orders were sometimes carried out in different ways. I passed rooms and witnessed boys being hit. I saw boys dragged and thrown around and yelled at.**

**Where exactly Voltaire acquired his staff I did not know, but the doubts that surrounded the Hiwatari family were quickly becoming clear to me. But I did not oppose. I could not oppose orders that came from one such as Voltaire Hiwatari, one far superior to me. And it soon became part of the norm.**

**Things continued as such for a good five years. I had already produced a number of Championship bladers and the reputation of the abbey was growing quickly.**

**We provided students with full-time education, housing and, of course, Beyblade training. But the purpose of the facility did not seem to matter to some parents who sent their children to us. They did not care about the Beyblading angle of things. They merely wanted somewhere to dump their kids.**

**So our applications began to come from more vast places. Homeless children from the streets were knocking on our doors and we took them in as students. We even sent scouts out to find possible candidates. We picked up any children we found with athletic potential, those with a strong will and those we could use to our advantage.**

**Our students were disciplined. Well-ordered. Intelligent and trained to a high efficiency.**

**But I was thirty-four when I was presented with a set of students that would become our finest. I'm sure you have gathered I am talking about the Demolition Boys.**

**Spencer came first. It was the typical routine of one of my scheduled appointments with parents who wanted to inquire about a place for their offspring. A rather shockingly tall man and his wife brought to me their five year old son. They were obviously a poor family, judging by their ragged clothes and all but desperate to offload their child because they had simply not the money to feed the boy. They were obviously saddened to lose him, but had they not made the decision, all three of them would have most likely died of starvation.**

**After seeing the boy's potential from the obvious athletic build he carried, I tested him and found not only fantastic athletic ability, but rather surprising intelligence also. He excelled especially in science and maths, immediately becoming a top student. His bit-beast came to him as soon as he launched a beyblade. I was ecstatic. Never before had I received a blader with a bit beast, despite continuing my strenuous research on them. I was delighted to now have an example to study up close and I assigned several of my staff to test the limits of this power.**

**Next was Bryan a mere month later. He came to us personally and by himself. After much interrogation, the child confessed to have run away from an abusive father and was seeking merely safer living conditions. He showed us a small battered beyblade which seemed to be the only thing he owned beside the clothes on his back. He instantly demonstrated promising skill with the blade, despite it being in awful condition. And most importantly to me, it contained the power of a bit-beast.**

**Ranks were being determined within the abbey and divisions made to section students dependant on ability. Bryan instantly fell into the top ranks, despite being merely six years old. He was assigned a room within the upper quarters and due to similar age and arrival time, was naturally made Spencer's room-mate.**

**The next bed filled in that small room was given to the only student I found worthy enough in a whole further year of recruitment. Ian was four when he was brought to us by a teenage mother who obviously could not care for a child. How the girl had managed up until that point I didn't know, but after many apologies to her confused offspring, she left young Ian in our care.**

**The boy had no education so was naturally a little slow to catch up on the academic side of things, but that was not the main priority at our facility so it was of little matter when I discovered his talent once a beyblade was placed in his hands. And only a few training sessions in, the presence of his bit-beast was discovered.**

**I was almost manically happy. I had three bit-beasts at the control of my students and ultimately, under my own power.**

**Two weeks after Ian had arrived, I was surprised when Voltaire came to the facility personally. His limo arrived outside and instantly had staff sent to greet him and show him around. But he did not come alone. With him was a child. A boy no more than five with two-toned blue hair and red eyes.**

**Kai Hiwatari, as I'm sure you've gathered.**

**Voltaire came to my office and introduced him personally. "Boris, this is my grandson. I want only the best for him and I believe your facility here would be best for his education. I will leave him in your care from today."**

**I was stunned. I had not even been aware that Voltaire had any children, let alone a grandchild. And I was even more shocked that he was entrusting his grandchild to my care.**

**Voltaire was never one to enrich in long conversations or reasons or details. The meeting lasted no longer than twenty minutes and I was left with this small, lost looking child.**


	3. Problem Children

**Justification of Evil**

**TheImmortalDoll**

**Chapter Three: Problem Children**

At first I didn't know what to do. This was Voltaire's _grandson_. Surely the boy was not expected to be treated the same as any odd child here. What did Voltaire expect of me? Was I to respect the boy as I did his grandfather? Was he to be honoured and kept in finery?

Kai had come to me dressed in a formal buttoned shirt and stiff trousers that looked almost comical on such a small body. But was this how Voltaire wanted his grandchild to dress in order to appear presentable and show the family's wealth? I was horribly confused and nervous.

I showed the boy round, slightly unnerved as during the whole tour the child spoke not a word. By the end of it, as we returned to my office, I decided direct questioning would be the only way to get him to speak.

And there was one question I needed to know. "Have you been taught to Beyblade, Kai?"

Crimson eyes turned their fiery depths to me and I hate to admit I almost shuddered. "I believe that is your job," came the harsh reply in a voice far too old for the child's body.

I frowned but refused to lose my self-control so easily. "Indeed. But do you have a beyblade?"

The child's eyes narrowed at me as if he considered me some sort of imbecile. "I was told you would provide one. Why did Grandfather hire you? You're incompetent."

I gritted my teeth in anger. The boy certainly had an attitude. But hardening my resolve, I grabbed the child by the arm and hauled him along to the training rooms. I informed the staff of exactly who the child was and they were stunned and slightly intimidated and seemed to look upon the boy as some sort of spawn of Satan. It took me a while to realise it, but they _feared_ the child.

What exactly were the roots of the power the Hiwatari family held? I was becoming increasingly desperate to find out.

Kai was given a version of our latest upgraded Beyblade and launcher set. He instantly turned to me as if awaiting orders. It was as if the boy was some sort of machine.

"Grandfather told me you would train me. Shall we begin?"

I was stunned by his determination. But what confused me more was that he was eager to learn and yet not enthusiastic to do it. The concept made no logical sense. The child seemed to be impatient to do something he had no desire to do. He held no passion for the sport, no pride in it. He merely knew he had to do it, as if to fulfil some sort of duty. And every action seemed driven by the influence of his grandfather. It was as if the boy lived to fulfil Voltaire's ambitions and desires.

Kai was no child, but merely Voltaire's project.

I told the boy training would be begin the following morning and the frown on his face gave the impression that he thought my tactics insufficient. He had Voltaire's attitude towards life drilled into; things should be done here and now.

But I trained him the next morning, teaching him the basics before going into more detail about how to get sufficient power and stamina based on technique. All this Kai absorbed as if he was some kind of machine. He worked until he had exceeded expectation. He studied until he achieved full marks in every one of his academic subjects. It was as if the boy was hell bent on nothing short of perfection.

He had a bit-beast. I was sure of it. But I had not sighted it as of yet and when I requested Kai to summon the spirit, he merely shook his head and I presumed he would require more training before gaining this power.

At times, I attempted to casually question the boy on his life. I wanted to know of his upbringing. Just what _had_ Voltaire taught the child to make him so chillingly efficient? And what of the boy's parents? Voltaire was known all over the country and yet no one had ever heard of any word of a son or daughter of the man. Where was that child now? One of Kai's parents.

Kai merely refused acknowledgement on any personal subject. Anything off topic of Beyblade technique or academics received the response of the boy reminding _me_ that we should be training.

After a month of my search for answer, Voltaire paid the abbey a further visit. And it was then I discovered the damaging truth: Kai was reporting on my performances as a trainer and giving this information to his grandfather.

Voltaire cornered me in my office and told me of this information. "And why are you so interested in my family, Boris?"

"Voltaire, I-I apologise," I stuttered out. "I was merely curious. I was not aware you had a son or a daughter and I was interested in your wonderful family's heritage to produce a talented child such as Kai." I had always been good at sucking up to people.

Voltaire's lip curled in a disarming smirk and I fought not to shiver. "Well Boris, I would like to inform you know that it is none of your business and any further questions will result in severe punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes."

Will a curt nod, Voltaire picked up his cane and left the office. As blunt and harsh as ever in his way of speaking.

I collapsed into my office chair, utterly exhausted and fearful and relieved I was not being punished further. I would tread more carefully from now on.

The output of the abbey was forever improving. Kai was learning quickly and Spencer, Bryan and Ian were all proving themselves as immense talents.

I trained the four of them together. My main figures of power. I trained them separately and gave them the attention I felt they needed. We worked for hours and I exhausted them, left them bruised and strained from all the work, but it was worth it for the power they gained.

Things continued this was for a year. But you can see there is an obvious person missing and that is why I skip forward a year to the arrival that was even more important in my life than when Kai was handed to me.

We received new students all the time. It wasn't out of the ordinary for one of the guards to knock on the door of my office and announce there were visitors to see me as potential students. I immediately asked for them to be brought through.

A woman came in first, walking in four inch heels. A tall woman with red hair, crimson red hair, tied back in a tight pony tail. A garish amount of make-up smeared across her pale face. She wore tight, revealing clothes. A black leather mini-skirt with fishnet tights, a bright red top under a leather jacket. "Mishka Ivanov," she announced in a hoarse voice, I gathered caused mostly by the habit made clear by the cigarette in her hand. She couldn't have been older than twenty.

The woman sat herself without invitation in the chair opposite my desk and either side of her came a child. A boy and a girl. Both had their mother's crimson hair, but bright blue eyes, unlike their mother's green orbs.

"Miss Ivanov," I said. "How can I help you?"

"You take in kids here and teach 'em stuff, yeah?" She said, breathing out smoke in a puff from her cigarette and tapping the ash onto the floor.

I nodded, handing her an ashtray. "Yes, ma'am. We train boys of all ages in the sport of Beyblading. But we also give them an education. Records have shown our results are of a high standard. We work every child to their best."

I had the speech prepared in my head. It was what I told to every parent, whether high class and trying to find a decent education system for their little darling, or young mothers such as this looking for a place to offload their kids.

She blinked at me with heavily outlined eyes. "Boys?" She repeated. "You don't take girls in?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, ma'am. We believe boys better suited to our cause."

"So you can't take the girl in? Come on, mate. I've got no cash to bring up one kid, let alone two. I need somewhere for them. I didn't even want 'em."

She didn't seem to care on whether or not the children heard and understood this. Two children of maybe six or seven that were being dumped in an unfamiliar place.

I looked at the two children. The boy was short red hair that spiked up like horns on either side, two strands hanging in front of his face. He wore obviously worn clothes. A pair of thread-bare jeans and a plain black jumper for the cold weather. And the girl. A child with the same red hair, in loose curls and waves, with the same two strands of hair in front of her face. She wore a crumpled cotton dress that was a faded blue and plastic, black, button-up shoes.

"I will enrol your son today, if you wish," I said. "But I'm afraid I cannot take the girl."

The women sighed and nodded. "Alright, alright. Guess I'll have to go back to social services and give her to them. Bloody lot of paper work."

I nodded and considered this none of my business. "All I require of you is to sign here," I said as I presented her with the standard form. "And to fill in your son's details at the top."

She did as I asked, talking to her son as she did, not even looking at him. "Tala, you go with this man here, right? He'll give you a bed and teach you stuff and all that."

The boy nodded anxiously, then spoke up in a weak and worried voice. "What about Kala? Will Kala be here, too?"

"They don't take girls. I'll take your sister somewhere else. Say bye and all that."

"_No!_" The sudden protest startled me and I turned to the one who had spoken. The girl who had voiced her clear opinion in a voice much stronger than her brother's. "If Tala stays here, I stay too!"

Her voice held such power, even more so than Kai. And now I saw her, truly saw her. A strong child, such a powerful child. What incredible power. But a girl, that was the only flaw. _She was girl_.

Their mother handed me back the form and stood up, snatching her daughter by the arm in a rough grip. "You ain't staying, now come on!" She began to march out of the room while pulling the girl by the arm.

The child yelled and tried to pull away. She kicked at her mother and screamed. "He's my twin. I won't leave!" In a sudden show of strength, she pulled out of her mother's grip and jumped away, spinning on one heel with all the precision of a trained martial artist and turning on her own mother. Beyblade and launcher clutched in both hands and aimed to fire.

Her mother stared in shock, but was soon back to yelling. "You put that stupid toy down, Kala Ivanov! I hate that thing. You're bloody dangerous with that thing!"

"Dangerous enough to hurt you!" The girl yelled back.

Before I knew what was happening, she had pulled on the ripcord and a black beyblade was flying towards the woman who could do nothing but scream.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a gray beyblade flew up to meet the girl's and stopped it an inch before it collided with the woman's head. Both blades rebounded and flew off of each other.

I looked to the side to see the young boy holding a launcher and looking intently at his sister. "Don't, Kala! Don't!"

The girl glared but called her blade back and in turn the boy's flew back into his hand.

"Thank you," the boy mumbled.

He knew what I had realised in those moments. She could have defeated him. Her power was by far superior to his. But she had relented in respect of her brother's wish for her to not harm the woman.

This child, the girl, held such power. How could I resist such power?

"Miss Ivanov," I said, surprised at the way my own voice shook as I spoke. "I have reconsidered what I said earlier and I will make you an offer. I will accept both your children."

"Good!" The woman shot back. "It's the girl I want rid of. You saw her! She's out of control. She's mad but if you want her than you can gladly have her!"

She signed the forms as soon as I presented them to her. And without only a quick final glance back at her own children, Mishka Ivanov left, leaving her children in my care.

Tala and Kala Ivanov.

I looked down at them both where they now stood side-by-side. "Welcome to Balkov abbey."


	4. A Team

**Justification of Evil**

**By TheImmortalDoll**

**Chapter IV: A Team**

I had a team. I knew it just by looking at them all together. Six children come together and brought to me for one reason or another. Separate, merely brats stuck in the lowest levels of life, but together, something powerful, something unique, and something that would achieve the success I so craved and finally gain the appropriate favor in Voltaire's eyes.

I had the necessary means, the necessary knowledge, and now, the necessary tools. All that remained was to bring it all together.

Kai, Bryan, Spencer, Ian, Tala and Kala. I looked at them each in turn as they stood in a line before me. All wearing the same uniform- a purple jumper with black trousers- with the BIOVOLT symbol stitched onto the left side of the chest. Even Kala, a girl in boy's clothes, stood in the familiar cheap cotton rags.

Kai, Bryan, Spencer and Ian, despite discipline training, had been unable to hide looks of utter shock when I came into the room followed by a new boy and _girl_. I had let the show of emotion slide for once; it was understandable; how often did any representative of the female gender step within these walls? I couldn't actually recall another time before it.

Kala's reaction, however, was something quite beyond my understanding. All sense of logic told me this small female child should be intimidated surrounded and outnumbered in the presence of so many of the opposite gender. Despite modern day sense and equality, in the scheme of things, males are still held as a higher sense of power than females. Should this child not be intimidated? And yet, she _smiled_. More than smiled, actually, she grinned at them and waved in a way that was either incredulously enthusiastic or horrendously sarcastic.

Tala, on the other hand, looked appropriately shy. Almost hiding behind his sister, he looked at the four unfamiliar boys with a nervous uncertainty and obvious intimidation. I could instantly see the flaws that would need to be rectified; clear nervous twitching as the boy fiddled with his clothes, his hair, and the beyblade in his pocket. His bowed head and constantly shifting gaze were far from the intimidating warrior I aimed to create in each student.

"I have brought the six of you together, because you have been recognized as having extreme potential and _power_." I stood before them, looking down at them as I spoke. It was time to put it all into place. "You will be the elite in this abbey. I will monitor your training personally to make you the best. You will be my team."

Kala's hand went up.

For a moment, I merely blinked. No child had ever treated my lectures of discipline with such incredible callousness before. The children here were trained to the fault, when I spoke, they listened without interruption, without hesitation, attentive and almost scared to breathe out of place. A boy had once sneezed and apologized profusely for it, looking as if he expected to be shot there and then. And this girl, had just casually put up her hand as if she felt she had every right to give her own input.

"You do not interrupt me, girl." I stepped forward, towering over this small child and lowering my voice to the tone that usually made them flinch in fear. "You listen as I speak and you do as I say."

And this damned child merely raised an eyebrow at me in a gesture that seemed to mature on such a young face. "I only wanted to ask a question."

"Well, you do not," I replied. "Questions can only be asked by those with the authority to do so. You are merely a tool for my use. You do not ask, you simply do."

She tilted her head, such disrespectful _sarcasm_. "So we can't ask questions?"

"No," I snapped, intending to leave it there, but she continued regardless.

"What happens if we ask questions?"

"You are _punished_, child. An experience you will find most unpleasant. If you were wise you would chose not to challenge it."

She nodded. "Right. So, we're not asking questions, correct?"

I nodded back at her. "Correct." I stepped back, intending to pick up the lost thread of where I left off, but this damned creature took it upon herself to speak up again.

"I just asked three questions, you know."

I looked at her, opening my mouth to silence the damned brat, when it actually dawned on me that she was right. No the finest display of attentiveness on my part for to overlook such a thing.

"You going to punish me then?" She said, voice holding something that I could have almost labeled as mockery. "Do I get three punishments, or do you just wrap it all up with one…? Oh wait, that was another two questions. _Five_ punishments then."

I was livid with the most bitter anger I had ever felt in all my years. Never before had I been challenged in such a way, never before had my discipline and authority been turned in such a way that I was left as the bane of someone else's humor. Even Voltaire's unchallengeable power that frightened me constantly into submission was something I could control, act accordingly, I knew how to deal with that. But this- _this_- was something that bypassed all sense. This mere child had somehow robbed me of all position of authority and stricken me of all powers of discipline. She relented at nothing, she continued regardless of my constant threats and reprimands. This child, in a space of mere minutes, had made a mockery of the entire hierarchy and schemes of authority in the entire abbey.

With brute force, I struck out at her, backhanding the damned brat so hard she fell back onto the stone floor. No sooner had she smacked against the rough surface did I have hold of the front of her shirt, pulling her back up and all but throwing the child into the nearest wall.

In the midst of my anger, I caught a glimpse of the boy's faces. Tala's utter terror at seeing his sister beaten; Bryan, Spencer and Ian, all with concern shining in their eyes but already trained enough to know not to show it on their faces; and Kai, utterly impassive with the stoic mask his Grandfather had apparently long ago put in place.

Dragging the girl up from the floor once again, I manhandled her roughly, shoving her into appropriate position to look at me, physically forcing the child into submission. I pushed her back against the wall until the girl was leaning against it and looking up at me, _you will stand to attention,_ breathing heavily and beaten in my attempt to regain control.

And to my horror, her eyes still blazed with a fire that showed no signs of so much as withering. Face still hardened into a blaze of pure rebellion, and purely impassioned sarcasm dripping from the words spoken by a voice as relentless and determined as a fire enveloping wood and turning it to ashes. "You done?"

I stormed to the door, called for the attention of two guards further down the hallway and ordered them into the room. "Take this putrid child and lock her in the cells."

Even they showed surprise as I gestured to the _girl_, but in loyalty they hesitated only briefly before carrying out my orders and grabbing hold of the child. One guard taking hold of each thin, pale arm and pulling the girl with them- despite her struggles of protest-out of the room and down the echoing stone corridors that I knew led to the barred cells for a long, cold night in solitude.

Once the doors were closed and the sounds of footsteps and Kala's constant arguing had dispersed, I turned back to the remaining students. They stood in the same original position, the earlier described expressions still present. And under my gaze, they immediately snapped into submission and with backs straightened and eyes forward, they obediently awaited my next orders.

I had lost the will. I repeated a few briefs words- reminding them that they were here to fulfill a purpose, students of this abbey, aiming to become beyblading warriors, they were to answer to me- before dismissing them back to their rooms, instructing them to give Tala the remaining bed in the room already shared by Kai, Spencer, Bryan and Ian.

I then made my way down to the lower levels and the cells. I hadn't even finished the staircase before I heard her wails of protests, shouts of anger, and even several threats towards the guards. I rounded the corner just in time to see one of the guards- tall, heavily cloaked men, as they were- slap the girl round her delicate face.

Yes, so delicate. A fine example of a female child, more so than a child, each minor detail an exclamation of feminism. And yet, her stance, her actions, held more strength than any boy here. In few adults, had I ever witnessed the self-assured confidence with which she performed such minor, everyday actions. It was horribly fascinating, this complete disregard for all sense of order and structure to the world. She was completely enveloped in her own determination and restricted within the rules and order of nothing. Such lack of fear, such lack of doubt. It was mad and ridiculous and wondrous all at the same time. Such a sense of absolute freedom must be exhilarating.

And here it was: my job and duty to crush that fiery spirit until she would become another soldier fallen into line with the rest.

The guards stood straight as I approached, awaiting further orders and I instructed them to leave this insolent brat with me. I stood unmoving as they bowed their heads and obediently dispersed from the narrow corridor of cells.

There were a few boys locked in further down the end, peering in fascination through the metals bars at this unfamiliar _girl_ stood before me. The only students so far aware of Kala's presence within the walls were Kai, Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Ian. I had yet to reveal this revolutionary event to the rest of the student population.

I looked down at her. Icy blue eyes stared back up at me. Such resilience. Most children would fidget under the sturdy gaze of any adult they were unfamiliar with; the mere stature and height difference enough of an intimidation, and yet this girl gazed right back at me.

"How delightful it will be," I began. "To see that brilliant attitude of yours crushed to pieces."

She smiled almost wistfully and leant back against the wall as if this were a friendly chat, rather than an impending lecture. "You love it really," she said.

"_No_," I shot back, not quite sure- and rather disturbed- at the rashness in my answer and the need I felt to exert my denial of her claim in my tone. "You are a brat, child. It is my job to discipline you and discipline you I shall. I have trained hundreds of students, each one refined to a near perfect warrior or ultimately dismissed as a failure and unworthy."

For a few moments, she just looked at me. "…near perfect?" She said eventually with a gentleness I had never heard before in her voice. It was almost…. Sympathetic. "You strive for perfection, don't you? What drives you is clearer than you would like. This-" She gestured at the walls around us, indicating the abbey. "-this structure, this system, this school of obsession, all this is your attempt to find perfection, is it not?"

I loathed to admit it, but her words strung a horrid truth within me. How could this child have such insight? How could this damn _brat_ read me like an open book when I had always prided myself on having a demeanor of apathy? She stared with those blue eyes, eyes too bright for my liking, for it unnerved me, into my very soul it seemed. She knew nothing of me, she could not, having known me less than a day. And yet…

"Perfection," she drawled, turning her head to the side with a smirk that would have been fitting on the face of any movie villain. "What a beautifully divine idealistic fantasy."

I growled. "Such educated words from such a small child. You are a brat, little more than a homeless runt, where did you learn such complexity? You speak with insight, as if with the education of a scholar. How?" I was too curious, too lenient, but I was possessed it seemed to know these things, I had to know.

She scoffed. "No education of the procedural kind. No days spent sat at a desk listening to a teacher lecture. You're right, Tala and I, we are hardly from a background of wealth. Stupid, lazy mother never registered our names for any _school_." Her voice seemed to turn bitter. "No, her children, her _slaves_. Too lazy, too _drunk_ to work, she would send us to beg for food, steal it if necessary. We stole valuables too, watches and wallets and jewelery, pawning it all for the money for basic electricity and her damned alcohol!"

"If no education, then how do you speak with such complexity? Such integrity?"

She glared up at me. "Why should I tell you? Further, why do you so much as care? My mother said I was a delinquent. She said I was violent, out of control, a hopeless case. Monster child sitting in the corner talking to demons."

My breath seemed to catch in my throat as an unknown excitement rose within me. "Demons? What demons?"

She shook her head. "It's not a demon. A spirit. My spirit companion-"

"In what from does this spirit appear, child?" I cut her off, the excitement now threatening to overflow and I was quickly and ignorantly forgetting that I was supposed to be punishing this girl.

"Depends," she said. "It's in the figure of a man, usually. But I can command him into the beyblade. Then it has no figure, no shape. It's just _there_, unseen."

"A bit-beast," I whispered. I paused, falling into contemplation. "But in the figure of a man?"

She nodded. "Idiots claim it to be the devil. Mother, babysitters, policemen. He would reek havoc on those that would challenge me. For a brief while, when father was still around, I _did_ go to school. Tala and I, we did. They expelled me. They kicked us out. It was a catholic school, they said they would not have a child who converses with the devil."

"Do _you_ believe this thing to be the devil?" I asked.

"No. That's absurd. I've asked him. He's not the devil. What business would the devil have here? With me?"

I nodded. "What _is_ the name of this thing then?"

She shrugged. "Doesn't have one. Doesn't need one. As long as it comes when I will it, then what else does it matter?"

Putting this aside for now, I continued, "but this spirit appears _outside_ of the beyblade? You could call upon it now?"

She nodded. "I don't know how, though. Tala has a spirit, that wolf, but it can only come with the spin of the blade. This I can summon at will." Her eyes sparkled. She straightened up and tossed auburn curls over her shoulder, letting her head drop back with closed eyes. "Come to me, my faithful spirit. Come now."

It seemed bizarre. Something out of a horror film this minor ritual. This sense of logic in me convinced me that nothing would happen. But then the bars of the cells rattled, the keys hanging on a near by rack rustled together in a metal chorus of clanging. A bitter wind seemed to sweep up and around us, and for a brief instant, I _saw_ it. A man; a man with long, flowing black hair, black eyes, dressed in a tailored black suit, a golden crown around his head with a piercing red jewel in the centre.

And then it was gone, just as quickly as it came. The wind settled and seemed to disperse as if the air had evaporated into itself. The boys in the cells around us were all but cowering in fear.

I looked to Kala. Her head lowered, her eyes fixed on me, and locks of crimson hair settled back around her face. Power, such tremendous power.

"Launch the beyblade," I said quickly. Forget everything else, I had become obsessed with this. How could this girl have such power? This child was everything I had ever wanted in a student, except that damnable attitude, but what did that matter when this girl was so _strong_?

She shrugged, took out the launcher, fixing the blade onto it and pulling on the ripcord, sending the black blade flying through the air, landing heavily on the stones yet without so much as a wobble, careening into a fine, sharp turn. The spin, balance, rotation- all the little details I knew about- it was all perfect.

"Summon the beast." I could not look away from it. I was transfixed, mortified and delighted at this insane revelation. "Call upon it, child."

No need for words, she threw one arm into the air and the air seemed to move around us once again. There was something _there_, something with power, a force similar to gravity but pushing in all directions.

I was trying to define an element. Every bit-beast had an element, it had to. This thing seemed to radiate nothing but darkness. Could darkness itself be an element?

Suddenly the black blade was flying through the air, _at me_. I ducked just in time to let it fly over my head and into bars of the cell behind me. With an unimaginable force, it struck the metal, denting it, slicing it, breaking the lock so the door fell open with some invisible, unequivocal power, the boy inside letting out a scream. The beyblade skidded onto the floor, turning sharply before flying back into the girl's out stretched hand.

Once the madness had calmed, the boy inside the attacked cell crept forward and peered around the doorway.

"Back inside!" I snapped, successfully making the child jump in fear and hastily retreat to the back wall of his stone prison. Satisfied, I turned back to Kala. "You aimed that thing at me?!" I demanded.

She shrugged. "Testing your reactions."

I walked forward and gave her a harsh slap around the face, but my mind was too far away elsewhere for me to bother to do much more. And besides, still, she just didn't _care_. "You are strong child. Maybe too strong for your own good. But you have power that will force you high into the ranks here."

She gave me an amused smile. "And you said you didn't recruit girls."

Forcing myself to ignore this arrogance, I let my eyes wander over her, to study this miracle that had been placed before me. This was the tool that would carry my team to the top, that would finally gain me adequate favor in Voltaire's eyes, that would at last help me gain the power and wealth I had pulled my way up the ladder in order to gain. "Come with me, Kala. My demon child. We will rejoin with the rest of the team tomorrow, and from there, we will work to making you a champion."


	5. Come Together

**Justification of Evil**

**By TheImmortalDoll**

**Chapter V: Come Together**

The boys at the abbey were trained to the fault in discipline. One usual custom was to stand and face resolutely forward whenever a senior member of the staff entered the room. As I pushed opened the door, every child obediently and routinely scrambled to their feet, but every pair of eyes stared fixedly on the space behind me instead on in the customary forward stance.

I ignored the breach in discipline, letting the guards handle it as several boys were whacked and the room ordered to face forward as myself and my line of followers climbed onto the central stage at the front of the hall.

Kala, Tala, Kai, Bryan, Spencer and Ian; in that order they stood in a line a couple of paces behind and to my right with the remaining student-body of the abbey staring.

I stood in the centre of the stage to address the empire I was slowly building. "My young ones, I have called you here today to announce the beginning of a new era in our prestigious abbey. Today we have the start of something potentially unimaginable in the Beyblade world. Today, we have our team. These six students-" I gestured behind me "-have over their short time here shown outstanding talent and ability. They will represent us as a whole in competitions worldwide. With a little more training, they will be ready to take on the world."

Students risked glances at each other, even the guards exchanged looks, all eyes staring questioningly towards Kala. It was time to introduce my prodigy and her new comrades to the gathering before me.

"This is the new team BIOVOLT: Ian Papov, Spencer Petrov-" I began, gesturing to each one in turn. "-Bryan Kuznetsov, Kai Hiwatari, Tala Ivanov…" I paused. I looked at Kala, she raised an eyebrow back at me. I lowered my voice, though I wasn't sure why. "And your new team captain, Kala Ivanov."

Gaps sounded throughout the hall, the place seemed alive with whispers. I looked at Kala once more. The winter sun streamed in through the tall glass window embedded in the walls, the light shining of her hair and reflecting in her eyes, making pale skin almost ghostly white. Demon child.

I turned back. "Now, I dismiss you all to dinner. Eat quickly, training will resume in fifteen minutes."

The boy clambered and dispersed as the guards brought in the serving trays and the large metal tubs of the gruel-like substance the children were fed on. Supposedly nutritious and full of protein, though it resembled (and apparently tasted) similar to something you would feed pigs.

"You are dismissed. Join the ranks," I ordered the six children still stood on the stage. They quickly complied, hurrying together to join the line for food, each being handed a bowl by a guard at the start of the queue that was then filled with their meal before they were allowed to move to a table of their choice.

Kai stood in line with the rest, several students giving the boy uneasy glances. They all knew who he was; grandson of the millionaire, financial power and founder of the abbey, Voltaire Hiwatari. No one seemed to permit themselves worthy to be in the presence of the child, leaving the poor boy undoubtedly lonely, but Kai showed no reaction to the treatment.

Even Tala and the others seemed to shy away. Kai was like a machine, seeming not to notice anyone or anything around him, designed for a purpose and interested in nothing but fulfilling that role.

I watched my young warriors. Bryan, Spencer and Ian seemed to have formed something of an alliance, grouping together at the end of a table on one of the work wooden benches. Tala seemed unsure whether to join them, hovering near his sister as if he wasn't sure what to do without her.

Meanwhile, Kai had chosen his own seat in a far corner on a so far unclaimed table. Another group of boys who had been looking to sit there quickly turned elsewhere.

Tala was served his meal and hung back, waiting for his sister before choosing to take a seat. Kala grimaced as she was served, but beamed at the guard unnervingly and cheerily chirped, "thanks!", before skipping off with Tala following. The girl stopped and looked around, before heading towards the table Kai occupied.

Voltaire's grandson looked up in confusion as Kala enthusiastically jumped onto the seat opposite Kai, her brother nervously joining her. The girl said something to Kai. From where I stood I could not hear the words, but Kai frowned slightly and said something brief back to her before continuing with his meal.

After dinner, the students were herded out to their next class. The majority were taken to the main courtyard to practice launching technique and I ordered for my new team to be taken along with this group.

I myself headed back to my office, preoccupied with competing necessary paperwork and other duties. I had worked undisturbed for almost an hour before I heard frantic footsteps outside the door and then a hasty knock.

"Come in."

A guard entered, looking rather distressed and as if he'd run all the way through the building and up the stairs to this room. "I am sorry for the disturbance, sir, but we need you urgently outside on the courtyard."

Pushing my work aside, I hastily followed as we hurried down stairs and through corridors and out into the bitter cold night air.

At first, I could only stare. Never had I seen such chaos. The guards were running around desperately trying to control the situation as fifty or so children ran every which way. At first I presumed there must be some cause for the panic, that something had frightened these children and they were running in fear or some form of terror. Then I realized that the shrieking and shouting was not screaming and crying, but _laughing_. And what was going on was a _snowball fight_.

"Stop that! Get in line! Put that snow down!" Came the constant repetitive cry of the guards.

Eventually I sought of only one thing I could possibly do, and in desperation, I yelled at them all to be quiet.

It was as if someone had pressed the pause button. Everyone and everything stopped. Even the wind around us seemed to still as every hard turned to look at me and in the middle of it all, I spotted the cause of the chaos. Kala.

I marched forward towards the girl, the crowds of boys and guards parting before me until she was left standing, unguarded, in the centre of it all and with the obvious responsibility all but written on her face. "You little _brat_. What do you think you're doing?"

She shrugged. "All this training is pretty boring. Besides, snowball fights are good exercise."

In my outrage, I backhanded the little bitch. "Don't you dare get smart with me. I let you off before, but this attitude of yours will not be tolerated."

She stumbled back, quickly regaining her balance and moving so fast I didn't realize what was happening until it was over. The damn brat _threw a snowball at me_.

Not in a mad rage, I leapt at her, snatching her up and pulling her right off of the ground. I threw the girl across the ground, flinging her several feet as the boys moved out of the way in fear, staring in horror. Glancing around, I suddenly found Kai, stood by the wall, arms crossed, watching with so little emotion showing he could have passed for a statue.

Kala was back on her feet, but I moved quickly to shove the girl back on the floor, determined to keep her down, planting a kick into her midriff for good measure. I would reinsert my power here, no matter what I had to do.

And then to my horror, she raised her head and looking up she cried, "come now, my spirit! Come now and do my bidding!"

The boys screamed in terror. The guards froze and stared. The snow around us billowed up from the floor in a white tornado, the tiles on the roof shook as if in anger, the wind blew with hurricane force, slicing cutting through the air. I saw Tala, hands over his head but calm, as if having seen this a thousand times before. I saw Bryan. Spencer and Ian, staring in wonderment. I saw Kai, eyes wide and even his expression held a hint of astonishment; he'd uncrossed his arms and stood, legs braced, staring at the spectacle before him as if trying to work out what was happening.

"Kala!" I yelled over the howling winds. "Stop this, Kala! Stop it!"

Blue eyes glinted with power, crimson locks tumbling in the wind, her skin was porcelain. I loved her and loathed her. Such power, such incredible ability, she was everything and anything I had ever aspired to find in a student, yet this power, this _child_ would not be tamed.

Suddenly, as if the off switch had been clicked, it all stopped. The wind settled, the snow floated to the ground, the boy gradually stopped screaming. I looked up to find Kai, tall and stoic with Kala in his hold, pinning the girls arms behind her back.

Kala didn't fight, didn't argue, just stood there and continued to stare forwards.

"You have a powerful bit-beast," came Kai's voice, a whisper in the girl's ear yet we could all hear. "My grandfather seeks powerful bit-beasts. Yours is strong. Where did you acquire it?"

Kala tossed her head back against his shoulder to look up at him. "You're a tool," he said. "You're grandfather is that rich man, right? What does he want with bit-beasts? And why do you help him? You? You're a kid." And shrugging suddenly out of Kai's hold, she turned to face him. "Loosen up."

For a few moments, silence reigned. The two of them stared at each other, Kai's face a blank mask and Kala's questioning, almost mocking. Suddenly, the girl spoke up: "where's _your_ bit-beast?"

Kai's mask suddenly melted into a picture of complete anger. In a split second, he had both beyblade and launcher in hand, pointing at Kala. "You believe yourself some kind of superior. You want me to show you whose inferior? Battle me now!"

Kala smirked. "Now you're talking!"

I wasn't sure what to do in all honesty. This was completely unauthorized, but in a school of beyblading, how could I tell children off for, well, beyblading? Instead I stood between them and began the countdown. "3…2…1…LET IT RIP!"

Both launched quickly, a black blade and a blue one skimming across the stones and quickly towards each other, colliding with force in the centre before bouncing back.

Kai's blade skidded into a sharp turn and flew straight back at Kala's. They seemed equally matched, exchanging hit for hit, neither gaining or losing any ground as they fought.

"Call out your bit-beast," Kala said suddenly.

Kai's head snapped up as he glared at her. He refused to retort and instead commanded his blade to attack. It slammed into Kala's, pushing her back until the girl took the stance I remembered for yesterday. I knew what was coming.

"Come now, my spirit. Destroy him! I summon you now to destroy his blade!"

Again the invisible spirit came at her command, the air around us shaking, it seemed, with it's power. The bit chip glowed a deep red and black blaze, but there was nothing visible, nothing that took on any form.

"Summon your bit-beast, Kai!" Kala yelled. "Summon it to defender yourself or I'll shatter you to pieces right now."

No one else- myself included- understood what she was talking about. Kai had shown no ability of having a bit-beast, though his power and elemental control suggested that he was viable for one. _What bit-beast?_

"Summon it! Do it, Kai!" Kala continued yelling, her blade grinding furiously at Kai's. The boy looked defeated until Kala screamed, "_Kai!_", one more time and suddenly the boy cried out.

"DRANZER!" The blue blade was suddenly immersed in a red haze, and to the astonishment of all present, a giant red phoenix suddenly emerged from the bit-chip. I won't go into the details of descriptions, who in the Beyblading world does not know the appearance of the powerful Dranzer? But we were all stunned; the boy had had a bit-beast all along. Why had the child hidden this powerful entity? And how had Kala known about it?

"Now we're talking," Kala grinned. She threw one arm out as she commanded her own blade. "Take him out!"

What happened from there was so fast I can't properly recall it, but after several ground-shaking clashes of power and swirls of fire dancing in the air, both bit-beasts retreated and as a haze of smoke cleared, I heard one blade clatter to the stone ground and skid to a stop.

The cracked and battered blade of Kai's now-named Dranzer lay on its side, and moments later, Kala's black beyblade fell down beside it after a last determined spin.

"Y-you beat me." Kai seemed stunned, as if he had never believed such a thing to be possible, as if he _refused_ to believe it was possible. "You can't beat me!" he yelled suddenly, glaring at the girl. "No one can beat me! Grandfather told me a Hiwatari never loses! _Never!_"

Kala didn't reply. She bent down picked both blades from the floor, stuffing her own into her pocket and walking up to Kai's with his in her outstretched hand.

Kai snatched it back angrily, eyes blazing like twin fires.

Kala merely raised an eyebrow. "Anyone can lose, Kai. That is, if they're fighting for something they don't believe in. Why do you fight? Because your Grandfather wants you to? That's pretty pathetic."

"Don't you call me pathetic!" He snarled. "I am a Hiwatari. A Hiwatari must be prideful and victorious and bring honor to the family." His words were both sad and chilling; this young child was a robot, parroting his grandfather's lessons and believing only what he was told to believe. "You are not worthy of me!"

"Oh really?" Kala breathed, voice almost deadly in its composure. "You go on and on about what a _Hiwatari_ must be, but tell me this, what must a _Kai_ be? What about you? What do you believe and want and feel?"

Kai blinked. He seemed confused by that question.

"Do you really believe all these things your Grandfather tells you? I used to wander the streets with my brother. We used to take newspapers from stands and learn to read from them. I studied the pages about your family's empire and all its values. What about your values, Kai?"

Kai's eyes narrowed. "My values are to fulfill my Grandfather's expectations."

Kala shook her head. "If you are so intent of fulfilling his expectations, if you are so loyal, then why do you hide your bit-beast from him?"

Everything paused. Kai opened his mouth several times, as if ready to retort but finding he had no answer. He just glared at the girl, jaw clenched, before turning his back to her suddenly with an angry huff. "Mind your own business."

Kai walked away. Kala wasn't done, she called after him. "We'll battle again sometime, yeah, Kai?"

The boy stopped, paused. For few moments silence reigned, then he raised one arm into the air, fist clench, in a silent message that he had heard and understood. And no I think about it, I realize how similar that gesture was to just yesterday when Tyson asked every much the same thing of the Kai today.


	6. Pride and Power

**Justification of Evil**

**By TheImmortalDoll**

**Chapter VI: Pride and Power**

Dismissing the students to their rooms, seeing as Kai had gone ahead and walked off back to his anyway, I hurried through the building to the young Hiwatari's chamber, intent on finding out about this new bit-beast and exactly why- according to Kala at least- he had hid it from his Grandfather.

I entered the small room; a square space with stone walls and nothing but a small bed in the corner and a wooden chest of drawers against the wall with the double purpose of holding clothes and being a desk, with the rickety wooden chair pushed up to it's side. All students were ordered to keep their rooms spotless, but Kai's was particularly immaculate, to the extent that it barely looked lived in. Nothing was on top of the chest of drawers, the sheets of the bed were pulled tightly and tucked in with military neatness, the floor was as clean as dusty stone cobbles could be and everything was so perfectly in place that it seemed like a show room.

All except for the small boy leaning against the back wall in the dim light. There were no windows in any of the students' rooms.

I closed the rickety wooden door behind me and stood before the boy. "Foolish child," I began. "Those with a bit-beast excel here. I can't even begin to fathom your reasons for hiding such a powerful spirit."

"Hn." Kai's classic response was in use even back then.

"Well, young Kai? Are Kala's words true? You hide this spirit so your Grandfather has no knowledge of it?"

"You better watch it!" Kai snapped. "I am required to report on your actions back to my Grandfather."

I shifted uneasily from the threat of having negative reports of myself reach my superior, but something in Kai's eyes told me he had no real intention of carrying these threats through, it was a tactical way of trying to get me to shut up because he clearly didn't want to talk about this.

"And what if _I_ report to your Grandfather that you have a bit-beast?"

Kai glared at me in response.

"Well, boy? This _Dranzer_, why do you so dislike the idea of your Grandfather finding out about it?" I pressed.

Kai looked away, seemingly fighting with himself, before he spoke up in a small voice that, for once, actually sounded right for his age. "Because… because Grandfather wants the bit-beasts for his own reasons. He wants _all_ the bit-beasts in the world. And if he knew about Dranzer, he would make me use her power for his aims. And I…I don't want him to hurt Dranzer. She's my _friend_."

From what I'd gathered from observing the boy, Voltaire had taught him not to think much of the concept of friends, and Kai's sudden bitterness at himself for this admission of affection brought a look of anger to his face.

I stepped closer, towering over this small child. "Tell me, boy. What does your Grandfather want with the bit-beasts?" He gave no answer. "Come now, child, if I can keep your bit-beast a secret, then surely you can oblige to answer a few of my simple questions."

Kai looked up at me. "You… you won't tell him?"

"Not if you tell me why Voltaire wants the bit-beasts' power."

Kai sighed. "He wants… he wants to use them, for his own ambitions. He wants the power they have under his control. He wants to destroy all other military and financial powers worldwide until he is left as an undisputed ruler. He wants the bit-beasts because they can get him everything… the _world_."

"_World domination_?" I asked, finding it incredulous. It was an idea out of a movie, a book, fantasy. "Your Grandfather is looking to take over the _world_?"

Kai nodded. And despite myself, I envisioned it: Voltaire's empire an undisputed power- power, money, control- and he'd hired me to help him gain this purpose. I would be a part of this great power, this legacy. I would have it all, the money, the wealth, the power I had always dreamed of in my so far desolate and mediocre life.

But on the other hand, as I looked down at Kai, I felt almost… guilty. This was a child, a mere child, why involve this boy in these mad schemes, even if the idea was so fruitful. And I suddenly noticed that he clutched his beaten beyblade in his right hand; the boy truly did love his precious Dranzer.

I leant down to the boy's level to look into his red eyes. "I will make you a deal, young Kai. If you give tour reports to Voltaire without any criticism toward me and with satisfactory reports of the abbey, I will not tell your Grandfather about your bit-beast. Do we have an agreement?"

Kai paused, thought it over, and nodded.

And that was where it all began: Kai's loyalty to me. The world has wondered time and again why Kai constantly returns to my side, despite his apparent hatred of myself and my aims. He does not like me, and perhaps even I do not like him, but we have a tolerance for each other. And even now still, a loyalty and trust. People have made reasons for Kai's defections: want of power, desire to fight your beloved Tyson, and maybe these aims have some influence, but he always knows he can return to me. So there it was, the old loyalty set in place and not removed since.

I left the boy in his room. Heading back to my office, I suddenly became aware of small steps echoing my own on the stone floors. I stopped and turned to find Kala a few paces behind me.

In the shadows created by the fire lanterns- attached to the walls and illuminating every corridor within the abbey- she looked even more a demon. An ageless thing with eyes that held a woman's strength, set in the face of a child. Her skin was white, yet it seemed not skin at all, more the gleaming flawless polish of a china doll. Her eyes too, were unnatural, too bright, too blue, too much like twin jewels staring at me with a cold and mocking expression. Her hair was like that of a doll, perfectly curled in ringlets, shining and neat and framing her delicate face. It disturbed me how much I admired he precious looks.

"What do you want, girl?"

She hurried forward suddenly, stopping right beside me as if walking with a friend or companion. "Did you speak with Kai? Did he tell you his reasons?"

"Yes, he said-" I stopped. What was I doing? "None of your business! You should be speaking to your superiors as if they were such. Now I am dismissing you back to your room. Leave!"

She didn't move.

I suppressed a snarl of frustration. "Why are you so intent on harassing me?"

She smiled. "Don't flatter yourself. I do this to everyone. Though I know how much you appreciate my company."

I spluttered at this accusation, becoming bitter in my denial. "Don't be foolish. I despise you, you damnable child. Now leave me alone!" I turned and attempted to walk away, ignoring that I knew she was following me with the soft patter of small steps echoing behind me.

I reached my office, flung open the door and attempted to close it on her when a great invisible push of power flung it back open. I stumbled back, startled, but slowly becoming used to these bizarre supernatural acts this child possessed the ability to pull off.

Giving in, I stormed into the office and allowed her to follow, ignoring how she kicked the door shut behind her as if this were a casual meeting. I resolutely sat down at my desk and she pulled herself up to perch on the edge of it in front of me.

"Do you have any regard for any form of authority whatsoever?" I snarled, glaring at this putrid child and her damnable attitude.

She smiled and tossed her crimson curls back over her shoulder. "I don't think so. I never have and I never have any attention of such. I like being a rebel. This is me. Live with it , darling."

I raised an eyebrow at this little diminutive act, but refrained from commenting. What kind of six-year-old called people "darling"?

"Are you planning to leave me in peace any time soon?" I asked instead.

She shrugged. "Perhaps. But I'm thinking that maybe you wouldn't like that." I looked up in question and she continued, "I think you like my company. It must be lonely up here in this big office, all by yourself?"

I leant forward and glared harder. "I am not so pathetic to have issues with loneliness."

"Yeah.. that's something a lonely person would say."

I forced myself to ignore her and attempted to get on with my work, pulling several files towards me, all highly confidential stuff, but when she looked at the pages with a casual interest, I made no effort to stop her.

"So," she began after a while. "Kai's Grandfather, Voltaire Hiwatari, that business man. Your boss, right?"

"Yes," I mumbled, wondering what she was getting at.

"You want his approval, right? I mean, he pays you, he's in charge of you. He's your superior, naturally, you want him to think good of you."

I paused and looked up at her. "You know nothing about that which you speak of child, so preferably and for your own sake, do not speak at all."

She laughed slightly. "Please Boris, you may have only known me a matter of days but I think even you have gathered by now that I'm not one to keep quiet."

"Don't I know it," I muttered.

She threw me a grin and hopped off of the desk, hurrying round to stand behind it beside my chair. "You know I'm powerful," she said.

"Yes," I conceded. "But you are a brat. Now what are you getting at, girl?"

"Well," she drawled. "Voltaire wants you to produce good students and all that so maybe you should show him a really good student. Like me."

I stopped and stared at her. "I am _not_ 'showing' you to Voltaire. You are a menace. The students of this abbey are supposed to be disciplined, you are nothing of the sort."

"I thought you were going to fix that," she said. "Something about crushing my attitude."

"In time," I replied. What I couldn't bear to admit was that I was quickly running out of ideas on how on earth I could discipline this resilient child.

She rested her arms on the desk, her height meaning that she had to stretch up to do this as she lay her head on them. "I may be a brat or whatever you keep calling me, but I can blade and I will. Students from here get entered into tournaments, right?"

I nodded. "Our main aim is to one day have a team that will conquer the world championship. I believe that in a couple of years time, you and your brother, along with Kai, Spencer, Bryan and Ian will achieve that." I stopped and looked at her. "I have assigned you as team captain, you know?"

"Yeah, I got it," she said. She raised her head from the desk and smiled at me. "That was kind of nice for someone you apparently don't like so much. But I'll do the job."

"Good."

She laughed for some unknown reason and stepped back, walking round the desk and heading towards the door, apparently finally deciding to leave me in peace to work. But then she stopped in the doorway. "Oh and Boris, you do know what's going to happen if you keep this up?"

I frowned and sardonically replied, "what?"

She looked back over her shoulder, red curls framing her doll-like face as she gave me a rather disarming grin. "You're going to fall in love with me."


	7. Seduction

**Justification of Evil**

**By TheImmortalDoll**

**Chapter VII:**

Fall in love with her? It seemed everyone was already. He defiance, her resolute will and determination, her beautiful looks; the boy started at her when she skipped into the breakfast room each day, even the guards adored her, despite that she often messed them around and drove them up the wall.

She often pulled disruptive acts in the middle of classes, making obscene comments or pulling completely bizarre stunts such as rearranging all the desks to face backwards whilst whoever was teaching was out of the room.

Again and again she was punished. Again and again she was sent to my office is disgrace. Again and again I would never end up punishing her, instead finding myself involved in deep and philosophical conversation with the child. She questions me on everything, and despite knowing better, I would reply to her queries. In turn, she would sometimes demonstrate great shows of power to me, making the objects around the room move just of her will, summoning her powerful spirit, even creating flashes of dark fire in the air.

"You are a demon," I would say and she would just laugh.

Months passed in this fashion I became almost accustomed to her presence, to her small but strong voice echoing in the room and her red curls brushing against my arms as she peered over at whatever I was working on. I am loathed to admit it, but the office almost seemed to quiet without her emphatic presence and it got to the point where I would almost look forward to the sound of small footsteps on the stone floor outside, before the door was pushed open and she bounded in as casually as if it were her own bedroom.

I trained her personally in Beyblading along with the rest of the team. Kai was now using his bit-beast freely during training, along with the other. I was most pleased with Tala's progress with his wolf spirit, amply named Wolborg, of course. But as good as the boys were, no one could come close to Kala's power. She was my perfect student, my weapon, my demon.

And it was during one of these training sessions that next major occurrence happened. I was closely watching my students battle when a voice suddenly spoke up behind me.

"Well Boris, things really seem to be coming together."

"Voltaire!" I turned quickly to face my superior, ordering the team into an obedient line behind me, pleased when the quickly complied.

Voltaire's lips curled before he looked to Kai. "How is my grandson coming along?"

"Very well, sir. He is making excellent progress and will excel in competition. He is one of the main threats of the team and can only get better."

"But the boy does not have a bit-beast? Have you not made any progress on this?"

I paused. "Well sir… as you know a bit-beast will appear to it's master when the time is appropriate. Regardless, Kai is very powerful."

Voltaire frowned, about to say something more when he stopped suddenly as his gaze landed on the small figure between Kai and Tala. He sharply looked back to me. "Boris? What is this? What is this _girl_ doing here?"

I looked between Kala and Voltaire, quickly moving to explain. "My lord, I realize the facility was not intended to house female recruits and I have always obtained this. However, young Kala here is an exception. She is an incredible beyblader. Her power is unmatchable and her presence here can only benefit our aims."

"I don't care how good she is," Voltaire responded. "Get rid of her. No girls. I do not have the patience for girls. They are weak."

I opened my mouth to protest, but to my horror and exasperation, Kala did it first. "I'm not weak, you stupid old man!"

Voltaire's face quickly changed from composed, to stunned, to utterly outraged. He glared at the child, moving forwards quickly towards her and grabbing Kala by the front of her shirt. "Don't you dare talk to me like that, you brat! You're nothing but a little street mongrel, lucky enough to be given a bed here, but I will put a stop to that."

She shoved him off, stepping back and returning to my side. "You hardly have right to call me weak when I beat your precious Grandson in battle."

I looked to Kai who appeared suddenly ashamed. Voltaire's rage rescinded slightly. "You?" he said. "You- a girl- defeated _Kai_? Is this true, Boris?" He suddenly looked to me.

"Yes, my lord. As I said, the girl holds exceptional power."

Voltaire paused. " I see. Does the child have a bit-beast?"

"Yes, sir. A very unusual spirit. But powerful, very powerful."

Voltaire looked from Kala to Kai and back again. His eyes stopped on Kai. "You bring shame to this family, boy. Loosing to a girl. Do you think you could redeem yourself in something of a rematch?"

Kai fumbled. "Er, y-yes Grandfather."

I didn't at all like this proposition, but what could I do? I led the two of them over to the beydish and prepared them to launch. Two children battling one another for Voltaire's amusement.

It seemed a déjà vu of their last battle at first; many months ago now but still fresh in my mind. Such power, such skill from two children so young.

Kai was determined, desperate even to prove himself. This small child that Voltaire placed the expectation of everything upon. This small, skinny child in his worn training clothes. This boy shouldn't have this power.

And naturally, Kai was once again refusing to summon Dranzer. He fought well without it, but the power of the beast was something that gave him a definite lift and without it, Kala was just too strong. His blade was out of the dish within minutes.

The boy fell to his knees, defeated.

Voltaire growled in anger. "You are a failure, child! Boris!" He turned on me suddenly. "You will get this boy a bit-beast!"

"What?" I was stunned, confused. How could I _get_ someone a bit-beast? "I don't understand, my Lord. How? A bit-beast must come to it's master, it cannot be given."

Voltaire looked less than pleased. "I do not care for all that bonding rubbish, Boris. Find one, catch one, make one if you have to."

I was suddenly fascinated. Make one? Could such a thing be possible?

I moved to question further but Voltaire's attention was elsewhere, looking thoughtfully down at Kala as she picked up her beyblade and dusted off hers baggy boy's uniform. "The girl is powerful," Voltaire mused. I waited, almost afraid of where this was going. "Boris I would like to speak with this child alone. Take the other back to their cells, and punish my Grandson for his pitiful loss, he is of no use to me until he finally acquires a bit-beast."

I wanted to argue. I didn't want Kala left alone with Voltaire. I didn't want to punish Kai, but I did it all obediently.

When I returned there were two bodyguards with Voltaire, the old man still conversing with Kala who stood and answered each of the constant stream of questions: where did you get this bit-beast? How long have you had it? Where did you learn to beyblade so well? That boy, Tala, is your brother?

Looking up and seeing me, Voltaire stopped. "I am taking the girl, Boris."

_What?_ It was suddenly the most horrific idea in the world to me. I felt a sudden surge of protection toward the child, and yes, even love. She was mine, my demon child. Voltaire had everything else in the world that a man could want. I would not let him have her. Not my Kala.

"M-my Lord, I believe the girl would benefit much more from reaming here. She is the team captain. She is meant to lead this team to victory. The entirety of our Beyblading future is based around her."

Voltaire frowned. "Boris," he said warningly. "You do not have the authority to go against me, so do not attempt to do so."

"Please sir, I must insist." I was quickly silenced.

"And I must insist that you be quiet if you wish to keep your job." Voltaire turned to the girl. "Come along, Kala."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "No thank you."

Voltaire was stunned. "_What?_"

Kala shrugged. "I said: no thank you. I would rather remain here. I like it here."

Voltaire looked between myself and Kala. "You do not understand, girl. If you come with me, I can give you a life you could never dream of otherwise. I am rich child, and I could make you rich also. I could put you into finery."

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'd love fancy clothes and stuff, but I really rather stay here. With my team, with my brother." She paused, before adding quietly: "And with Boris."

I expected Voltaire to become furious once more, to the surprise of all present, he laughed suddenly. "It's a good thing I like you, child. Very well. You may remain here. However, such a pretty little thing as yourself does not belong in such ruins. I used to say the same of Kai, but Kai refuses the inheritance and honor of the family. He has failed and put himself in this life of misery."

Kala shrugged, apparently considering this not her business. "So what's the deal?"

"Simple, my dear child. As long as you promise to remain and work for me and me only, to serve BIOVOLT, I can give you anything you desire. The world child. That is what I am offering you."

"Doesn't sound too bad," Kala commented. But she turned suddenly and walked back to my side. "Give me what you will. I'll serve you. Don't worry about that."

And he did give her everything. The next day, Voltaire returned and took Kala with him, promising to return her by the evening. I wasn't so sure about this, Kala- like all other students of the abbey- had never left it's walls since arriving, but she went along with him and when she returned, it was the start of a whole new form of seduction. A new era.

I didn't hear her come in. I did not realize she had returned, sitting in my office as I was, until I heard the gentle tap of footsteps approaching from the corridor. At first I wasn't sure it was even that; it was a different rhythm, not the scuffed and quick pounding of Kala's rushing around, but a _tapping_.

And then she appeared in the doorway, no longer the child from the streets adorned in boy's clothing. At first I almost believed it to be someone else; the small childish face and mussed curls had been transformed. I only then realized how long her hair had grown over the months, now falling well past her shoulder to her mid-back, shining now with a whole new pampered luster. Her small face now matured with carefully done make-up appropriate for someone three times her age. Her eyes seemed yet an even brighter blue, outlined in black with long eyelashes heavy with mascara, the lids dusted with a light purple color. And even her cupid-bow shaped mouth painted in a delicate pink shade. Her top half was held in a tight-fitting corset-style bodice of sky blue, the rest covered by silk skirts of dark blue that trailed to the floor.

She smiled and twirled theatrically before me, holding up her skirts so as not to trip while I cast a glance at the white stiletto heels strapped to her small feet.

"Well," she began, her skirts falling down around her as she stopped and grinned at me, tossing her shining her back over her shoulder. "What do you think? It's a little over the top, but I quite like it."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how I felt about this insane transformation. It was as if she'd suddenly transformed into a woman right there and then, and she was still only a child of seven (as of the previous month).

She trotted over, putting her hands on the edge of the desk opposite me and peering up as if curious of what I would say.

I sighed. "Amazing what money can buy," I muttered.

She cocked her head at me, before coming round to stand beside me. "Voltaire wants you to get Kai a bit-beast," she said.

"I know," I replied. "Though how exactly I am supposed to go about doing that, I really have no idea."

"Well," Kala drawled. "Like Voltaire said, make one!"

I turned and looked at her. "I don't even know if such a thing is possible, Kala. I have doubts about my ability to play god."

"But there's all those machines downstairs!" She said. "Surely with all that junk you can make a bit-beast somehow."

"I may have the equipment," I said. "but I don't have the ingredients. Who knows what a bit-beast is even _made_ of." I paused. "And besides, we're forgetting that Kai actually _has_ a bit-beast. It's just… secret."

"I know," she said. "And I know what a bit-beast is made of."

In astonishment I turned to look at her. "What?"

"It's easy," she said. "It's just a spirit with a material form. A sacred spirit. I guess that's what mine is: a sacred spirit, but it's material form is a man. Bit-beasts are usually animals, right?"

"I can't even begin to fathom the physics of that spirit of yours. But yes, they are generally animals." My mind was suddenly running riot with ideas. Kala had a spirit, could that spirit be turned into a true bit-beast form? I began calling up my staff, ordering the hiring of scientists and experimenters alike, anyone who knew anything about physics, bio-chemistry, cellular structure. Bring them all to me.

As I made phone call after phone call, hiring whatever contacts I felt appropriate, Kala pulled herself up onto the desk, kneeling right on top of the wood and opening several of my files.

After a while I peered over her shoulder to see what she saw looking at, finding the girl reading through my endless pages of bit-beast research that I had collected over the years. She'd taken a highlighter and began picking out odd bits of information, drawing all over the pages, regardless of the fact that it was someone else's property. But then again, this _was_ Kala.

"Ancient animals," she said. "That's what this is all getting at. They're ancient spirits that have come back through the beyblade's power to contain their energy."

I stopped between phone calls. "What else can you work out?"

"It's all to do with spirits," she said. "Lost spirits looking for a place to go, and when they find a master with enough power to summon them, they go to them, and in turn, into their beyblade. They're like the ghosts of dead animals, I guess. More powerful animals make better bit-beasts. You know, things like dragons and tiger are fierce in battle. And other types of power, elemental control, if an animal is strongly associated with something such as the sea, or fire. Like a phoenix, like Dranzer."

I was deep in thought. "What… what if you could take a spirit and merge it with another? What if you could combine the powers of two spirits to take on both of their powers?"

She looked up at me, long eyelashes curling upwards as her eyes widened. "It would be something all-powerful. Twice the power."

"What if we… if we combined your power… with Kai's?" I stood up suddenly, going to my shelves and hunting down several books on the history of bit-beasts, their legends, their structure and physics. I put them in Kala's arms as she hopped off of the desk. "Take these downstairs, to the underground chambers. I'll order endless amounts of equipment, we'll create a laboratory, a place of creation."

She nodded and hurried away, blue silk flying out behind her. I went straight back to the phones, ordering my people to find me the finest equipment around, money no matter, Voltaire would do anything when it concerned the bit-beasts.

Within two weeks, I had a fully-fledged laboratory and a good thirty men in white coats working for me. I piled them with every file and book I had of information concerning bit-beasts and told them to set about their task of creating one.

I kept Kala at my side. skipping around the lab in an array of high-heels and fancy skirts, and allowing her to give her input wherever and whenever she desired.

Indeed an array of clothing, for Voltaire had lavished affection upon her. It seemed even the most high and mighty were immune to her charms, for yes, everyone and anyone that saw her fell in love with her. She was beautiful, overwhelmingly intelligent, utterly perfect. And she was mine; I found I was pulling her closer and closer to me and unable to let her go. For indeed yes, I loved her as I had never loved anyone or anything else before.

The experiments were forming and rising around us. Glass tubes attached to control panels were constructed, designed to contain the new spirits' as they grew within as if these were nothing short of mechanical wombs. The magic of playing God.

Animals, dead and alive, were brought in for experimentation. I watched as they were tested, experimented on, driven seemingly insane at times. There was one occasion when a snarling wolf broke loose of its chains and began charging around the lab, terrifying the staff before it was suddenly struck down by some invisible force and I caught a glimpse of the dark spirit-man and for the first time noticed Kala standing on the balcony above.

She was gone the next time I looked; the girl moved as swiftly as a phantom herself.

It was weeks of this routine of experimentation and study and creation before I realized that, unwittingly, I had somehow given indirect permission to Kala to do whatever the hell she wanted. I often saw her loitering around the corridors, or hanging about the labs, peering in the glass cylinders. And more often than not, I would be working on some form paperwork or study in my office and she would enter silently and merely _be there_. And yet there was something seductive about her lying there, draped over the velvet couch pushed up against the side wall, demon icy blue eyes fixed upon me. She seemed a scaled-down version of a woman, not a child. She was a seductress and she seemed to find endless amusement and interest in consistently torturing me with mad insinuations and tempting poses.

But I stray from the point, back to my original issue: she had somehow rid herself of all restrictions of authority and roamed the abbey as she pleased. Voltaire often sent her luxurious gifts of clothes and perfume and jewelery, apparently having found a _replacement_ for his "disappointment" of a Grandson. He would have her destroy obstacles with her beyblade for his amusement and often discuss with her matters that would usually only shared between high class business man and world leaders; politics, law, finances… what kind of child had knowledge in these things?

But with all this in her life, she'd abandoned all sense of structure and order existent for every other student. She barely attended classes, and if she did, she would wander in when she chose. The guards had given up attempting to track her down, I had given up attempting to discipline her. So instead she spent her own time loitering around the halls, or even doing her own research into our vast topic of bit-beast creation. Other times I did not see her for hours. _Other_ times I unexpectedly stumbled across some insane stunt of hers: constructing a tightrope to climb along between the two top towers of the abbey, convincing the boys to respond to each other's names, stealing the guards head-wear and giving them a chase through the abbey in order to get it back.

These stunts brought anger and annoyance and exasperation to myself and the other staff, but her fellow students adored her antics. She was their only form of amusement within the dark walls, bringing carefully concealed smiles to those who needed encouragement. It was against everything I instructed and taught, and for some insane reason, I allowed it.

Perhaps it was because she made me smile, too. As you may have gathered, I was not one for idle amusement or time spent on mere _enjoyment_. Yet she would endlessly amuse me by abruptly coming out with some abrupt comment of rather hilarious insinuation. There are comments she made on Voltaire's age and appearance that were so vulgar and daring that I often had to stop myself from thinking about them in said man's presence. As amusing as they were.

But the boys of the abbey loved her. And to my amazement, it miraculously appeared that she knew of every single one's name and to everyone she always had time. One moment I would see her talking to Alexander, the next milling around Vladimir, another time even advising Leonid on his launching technique.

She had even pulled her own team together somewhere along the line. I began to observe that Tala, Bryan, Spencer, Ian and even Kai sat together at designated meals and were often seen together after classes.

I soon realized to my horror, amazement and with a sense of irony, that she was more in control of the abbey then I was myself. She was the essence of it, the centre of it, even the leader in some ways.

And as much as she endlessly fascinated me, I knew I could not allow the girl to acquire any more control. I went about recruiting another member of staff.

Babysitters, nannies, au pairs and every other sort of child carer under the sun was trialed. And yet she defeated everyone of them. Many quit, nearly in tears, apologizing profusely and _sobbing_ that they "just cannot handle that child". Other stormed out angrily, swearing never to return and threatening to sue. Some even just ran away in fear, never to be seen again. I had many coming running to me, claiming the child to be "of the devil" before they furiously handed in their resignation. Many sightings of "dark spirits" and "witchery" were reported to me.

After having exhausted every angle of the care system in Moscow, I tracked down Kala and quizzed her on these events.

She smiled, currently adorning a glamorous dress of blue and silver, and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "They are no more than forms of amusement to me, Boris. Bring me a man of good company and I will allow him to stay. Someone of high wit and with an open-mind, such as yourself."

Yes, the girl somehow had given herself the belief and right to decide on a personalized job description for whoever would be so _graced_ as to supervise her. I told her she would have nothing of the sort.

Yet the very next day, I came across my answer. A man was being interviewed by the scientists for his knowledge in research of old artifacts and spirits, merely for purposes on information. I wandered in on this visit, Kala at my side, who immediately beamed at the man and ran to peer over his shoulder at all the papers on the desk.

"Mr. Balkov, I presume?" He said upon seeing me, casting a slightly wearing glance at the child who rather rudely took his seat as he stood up to greet me.

I nodded and quickly apologized for the behavior of the damn child.

The man shrugged it off and smiled down at her. "Pretty little thing. I wasn't aware that girls were also accommodated here. Most people have heard of this place and say it is an all-boys facility."

"Generally," I replied. "The girl is… an exceptional case. A great amount of power and ability."

The man nodded. "Fascinating." He then extended a hand to me. "Jean-Paul Barthez."

I returned the greeting and we were soon involved in a discussion on his work and research, much of which I was interested in. I decided on a proposition.

"Mr. Barthez, I have an offer for you and I would be most delighted if you were to accept." Somewhere along the line I had picked up Voltaire's art of aristocratic speaking and I enjoyed using it and the way it made me seem like one of a high-class background. "I would like you to come here and work for me. Permanently."

He was surprised by this offer and seemed willing, so I quickly added in the catch. "However, among your research and scientific duties, I would also like for you to take upon another responsibility."

I turned my gaze on the demon-child sitting in Barthez's former chair, a large book of archaeology balanced on her small legs.

"I need an extra pair of eyes kept on that girl. She is rather… wayward. If along with your other duties, you could keep a look out on her, then I will be willing to pay you a high sum."

I knew I had won him over. "First of all," he began. "Please feel free to call me Jean, and secondly, I would be delighted to take your offer. I must admit I am frightfully short of work at this moment and this comes as a most welcome opportunity. There are so many people, unlike yourself, who have no interest in my field of work, and the ideas I have heard you are testing here are most exciting."

We shook hands and the deal was done.

"I will fill you in on all the details of our research later, but I will put you in charge of a large number of people." I stood and summoned my young prodigy. "Kala!"

She looked up, smiled, and skipped over to my side. I explained our new recruit and informed the girl she was to look to him as a temporary guardian in my absence. Kala was delighted with this new… playmate. She quickly introduced herself and began chatting away, and again unwittingly, I realized I had done exactly what she had wanted me to once again.

Damn seductive demon child.

But later that evening, when I came across Barthez in one of the deepest corridors in the abbey, I ensured to make one thing clear. "She is mine, Jean. Do not forget that."

Already on first name terms, he smiled at me as a true friend. "Do not worry, Boris. I wouldn't dream of it."


End file.
